Dead!
by Handsome Awkward
Summary: House gets a new patient. Who is she? What is she hiding? Will the hostpital be at risk because of her actions? Please read and review...
1. How old are you?

**Disclaimer. I do not own. **

The speakers were loud. People were screaming. Strobe lights were blasting. Everyone was having a good time. That's what raves were all about right? Having a good time.

"What is this?" Al half screamed over the beat of the music to a guy that had put something in her mouth. She had had too much to drink and one pill too many.

"Nothing, just some candy." The mystery guy shouted.

She just smiled and kept on dancing, her long black hair flowing wildly around her head. He smiled and pulled her fiercely to him. _Plastered together, like some kind of collage. _She thought letting a giggle escape from her throat. She danced closer to him. She never even met the guy, but he seemed nice. And he had a lot of friends here. She couldn't even count how many people had greeted him. She smiled again. _God, I love raves._

"Hey," she grabbed her attention by placing his two fingers under her chin and pulling her face toward him, "Let's go somewhere…more quiet."

She nodded and followed him out of the party. They were on the sidewalk and she had more than a stumble in her step. She couldn't help but notice a man sitting on a bench across the street. He was staring right at her. She felt a sort of remorse flood over her at what she was wearing. Short, red plaid shirt, more than too much make up (mostly black), fishnet stockings, calf-high boots that tied up the side, and a black tank top that was snug around her abdomen. The remorse left just as quick as it came.

He pulled her along not letting her fully grasp the ground with her feet. She knew something was up, she just didn't care. Her mind was hazy and she could feel exhaustion start to take over, but then again she felt good, really good, in fact.

Something caught her attention though. She looked back over to where the man had been sitting and staring. He frowned…confused. She could see it from where she was. He was frowning, she was certain. He looked deep in thought. This intrigued her. She tried to pull away from the (much bigger) guy that was grasping her wrist. He held on tighter.

"Let go." She said slowly and cautiously.

"You asked for it bitch." He simply stated.

Now she was scared. Terrified. What was going to happen to her?

"I said let go." She said a little louder but not loud enough for any passer-by to hear.

"Get in the car."

She pulled back; sobering up a bit yet getting more intoxicated. What had he given her?

"Leave me alone." She hissed.

He pushed her against the door of his car so hard she could almost feel her bones rattle. He ground himself into her and she used as much force as she could to push him away. He pushed her again grounding harder. Tears sprung to her eyes. _I'm going to die. Oh God. I'm going to die! _She tried to get away from his grasp but he was too strong.

---

"But mommy." House whined as Cuddy all but pushed him into the clinic.

"No, you have clinic duty and I am going to stand here and watch you until I know that you aren't going to run and hide like a little child." Cuddly replied coldly.

"Stalkerish much Cuddles." He smiled.

"House, 'stalkerish' is not a word." She replied still pushing him. His frown made her smile a bit.

She stood watching him with her arms folded at her chest. He grabbed a file and called out a name grumpily. He stomped off into one of the exam rooms slamming it in the patient's face. Cuddy rolled her eyes and called out one of her patients.

House put on some gloves and turned swiftly to the man behind him. "What seems to be the problem sir?"

"I've been having headaches."

"And…" The diagnostician asked loudly.

"Well, that's it."

"Headaches?"

The man nodded.

"That's it?" He asked dumbfounded.

The man nodded again.

"Tylenol." He simply stated and limped out of the room throwing the folder on the counter in front of him. He glanced around making sure Cuddy wasn't there and walked out of the main doors. The bench in front of him looked comforting. He sat down and stretched his leg in front of him absently rubbing it.

There was evidently a party going on across the street. That humored him. _Maybe I'll get to see some topless drunken chick fall on her ass. _He thought smirking slightly. He stared in front of him and his mind drifted to his latest patient. _What was his name again? Ralph, Rick, Bobby? Who cares? What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he bleeding in his pancreas if there were no other symptoms? _Just then a girl stumbled out of the doors with a tall lean guy. He was smiling and she was painfully obviously drunk. She said something and looked over at him. Their eyes met but he was too lost in thought to care. She said something else and looked ticked. He all but slapped her and his smile was washed away and anger replaced it. He pushed her into a car. That got his attention. She was screaming and crying now. _Is that dumbass going to rape her?_

House stood up getting a closer look. The guy pushed the young girl harder into the door. House grabbed his cane and limped across the street.

"Hey. How about you knock it off or I'll shove my cane up your ass." He stated calmly.

"How about you _bite_ my white ass?" The jerk stated.

"Well waltz it on over here tubby." He snapped.

The guy let go of the girl not too gently and she slid down the side of the car door pulling her knees to her chest. She didn't look older then 15. What the hell was this guy thinking?

"Why don't you back off Grandpa?" The guy said.

"Oh, good comeback. I'll have to use that one. Just leave the girl alone." House said putting his other hand on his cane.

"Look gimpy, the bitch asked for it."

"Personally, I would have gone with 'sir limps-a lot' but whatever floats your boat. Just leave the girl alone and we can all go home in one peace. Mk?"

"How 'bout I don't and you just go back and do whatever the hell it is you do." The jackass smirked.

"Well, if I'm not leaving and your not leaving, then there is only one solution."

"And what is that?"

"The girl leaves. And you can date-rape me." House said plastering a fake smile on his face. The guy paled a bit and stalked back into the party.

"You didn't need to do that, I could've handled it." Al said ignoring the hand that was reached out in front of her. She pulled herself up and stared House in the eye.

"Yeah, I could see that." He replied sarcastically, "what is your name?"

"Al." she said curtly

"How old are you? 14?"

"21."

"Right, and I'm Steve McQueen."

"Nice to meet you Mr. McQueen, cuz I'm 21."

"You're lying. How old are you?" He asked again.

"That is none of your business whether I'm lying or not." She said starting to walk away.

She stopped suddenly and fell to the ground. House raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

She was seizing.

Tbc? Please review.


	2. Festivities

**Disclaimer: don't own.**

**Please REVIEW and I will update faster**

"I found a new patient." House sang to Cuddy.

"Oh, really? And who would that be?" Cuddy asked not paying close attention to the man limping behind her.

"Her name is Al." He stated in a monotone.

Cuddy swung around and he almost ran into her but he stopped himself curtly. "You know her name?" she asked shocked.

"Of course. I love all my patients equally. I find what's wrong with 'em then I bone 'em. I'm like Wilson." House said putting his finger to his chin as if thinking.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and started walking again. "What is wrong with her?" She asked putting on a fake smile for someone that asked her to sign some papers.

"Well, she was at this party and this guy tried to rape her and then, like oh my God! I threatened the guy and she just like started seizing." House said pretending to twirl hair around his fingers like a ditz.

"House for God's sake, can you be serious for two seconds?" She asked rolling her eyes and opening the door of her office.

He followed her through the doors and plopped down on one of the chairs closest to the door. "No. I can't. It's impossible."

"Ugh, Okay. Well, you have a patient, get to her." she said giving up.

"Hm. That was easier then I ever imagined. Okey Dokey." He said standing up swiftly and turning on his heel. He opened the door and headed to his office leaving Cuddy to do her business.

---

"Hi. Al is it?" Cameron asked as she walked into Al's room.

"Yeah. What do you want?" The girl asked absently as she was hitting buttons on House's DS.

Cameron got a second look at her and her eyes widened a bit. She looked so familiar. Cameron walked over to the IV and started to change it. "Just need to change some things. Are you feeling dizzy right now?"

"I don't even know how I got here. I woke up and this guy, the guy from in the street, was sitting beside my bed playing this. He let me play until he got back. I lost twice." She frowned a bit.

"The guy from the street?" Cameron asked putting the new sack on the hook.

"Yeah, I have a head ache." She said finally looking up at the doctor in front of her.

"That's from getting your stomach pumped."

"Stomach pumped?" She asked going back to the game.

"Right. It seemed as thought you had ecstasy, and LSD in your system." Cameron said writing something down on the paper in front of her.

"LSD? I didn't take LSD." Al said setting the DS down on the table beside her.

"Evidently you did otherwise it wouldn't be in your system."

"Look I'm telling you I didn't take LSD. Ecstasy? Yes. Alcohol? Yes. LSD? Not so much." She replied in a frustrated tone.

Just then House walked through the door. "Can I have my game back?" He asked reaching for it.

"Tell her I didn't take LSD!" Al said in an angry tone. "I'm not some kind of drug addict."

House raised his eyebrows. "You were at the rave."

"This is a once a month thing. That is the only time I ever take anything. LSD is not one of those things."

"That guy you were with? Did he give you anything?" House asked sitting beside her bed.

Cameron looked confused but she stayed quiet.

"He said it was candy." Al said looking like she had just had an epiphany. A wave of dread washed over her.

"He lied. Like you did to me when I asked your age. How old are you?"

"I'm 16." She said looking down.

"That is more believable. Thank you." He said turning on his game. "Why were you at a rave, taking drugs and drinking alcohol?"

"That is none of your business." She stated rolling her eyes.

"Again with the 'none of my business' bit. Just shut up about that and tell me why you were at the rave."

"My friend told me about it. I go to them all the time."

"Just not the ones with alcohol right?"

"No, they usually have alcohol at them. I'm not some kind of monk. I don't need this shit." She said starting to rip off the stickers that were hooked to her chest.

"Oh, so you decided to try something new and go to the ones with rapists at them?" He asked staring her coldly in the eye.

"No!" She said pulling the IV out of her arm. She stood from the bed and started to walk out of the room. House put his cane out and stopped her.

"You are not going anywhere." He stated slowly.

"Well I'm not staying here getting accusations thrown in my face! I haven't done anything and I don't need you to tell me I did. So back off before I kick you in your bad leg."

House's eyes widened a bit but he recovered easily. "Now that wouldn't be very festive now would it."

"You think I would get the wrong leg don't you? You think I have no idea whatsoever which leg is hurt and which is not, that's why you're not worried. Isn't it?" She asked smirking a bit.

"Not at all." He said shaking his head slightly. "I'm just not scared of you. You're a sixteen year old girl for God's sake."

Cameron had kept her mouth shut the whole time, watching them banter back and forth. Something was familiar about the girl that she could not put her finger on.

"Its your right leg, isn't it? Because you hop on your left one and your cane is in your right hand. That leg has a dent in it so I'm guessing no muscle and you're not worried because you don't think I will go through with it. Right?"

"Lucking guess. What's a smart girl like you doing at a rave only ten seconds away from being date-raped?"

"I told you I could have taken care of it." She said walking out of the room catching the eye of Cuddy and Wilson, and the rest of House's team.

"No, you couldn't have. You were too afraid, too much of a coward."

"Bite me Sir-Limps a lot!" She screamed getting the attention from everyone that was in the radius of the conversation.

House smiled. "You remembered." He said watching her closely.

"Well, its better then 'gimpy.'"

TBC?


	3. red eyes and nosebleeds

**A/N: Yay I updated...I'm so proud of myself...please review this chapter, anyone who writes knows how fulfilling those comments are. Also, if you like the whole tragedy fics, i wrote a poem about House's death...Kind of sounds depressing and it sorta is but i would be flattered if you gave it a chance...its called 'Ergo Prince.' Any critique they I may need on it or even praise i wouldn't mind...any way to the story...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own...**

--

"So, since we have come to the conclusion that you don't like me and I don't like you, what is wrong with you?" House asked the Al in her room. He had to take her history and he wanted nothing more then to leave.

"Nothing. But I've had this headache. Its pretty bad."

"That's not nothing. Nothing is when _nothing_ is the matter with you. A headache is something." House stated irritably writing it down. "How bad?"

"Really bad. It just started last night, before the rave." She said fiddling with her gown straps.

"So you decided to make it worse by drinking it away only to have it come back tomorrow?" House asked rolling his eyes.

"No, I just didn't think anything of it. It started here." She said pointing at the center of her head, "then it ended surrounding my entire head." She stated closing her eyes briefly.

"Okay, how long did that take?"

"Did what take?"

"How long did it take for the headache to reach all the way around your head?"

"About two hours. I took a Tylenol, but it didn't go away…"

"How many Tylenol?"

"Did I say Tylenol in a plural sense? No. I only took one."

"Right…and I'm supposed to believe that?" House asked staring her straight in the eye.

"Yes." She said simply.

"Okay, I'll believe you, not really, but I refuse to argue with you... any way I also need to ask you if you have a headache now?"

"Yes, it's not as bad since the nurse gave me morphine." She said dropping the straps of her gown back into her lap and settling herself further into the pillows.

"The nurse gave you morphine and your headache still hasn't gone away?" He asked looking at her wide-eyed, "Either you're lying to me or that is one monster of a-", he paused when he saw a streak of blood dripping out of her nose. "Your nose is bleeding." He pointed reaching behind him to grab a tissue.

"What?" She asked putting her hand to her face and pulling it away only to see the smudge of crimson across her fingers. "Oh."

"Oh, all you have to say is 'oh'?" He asked looking her up and down. "Has this happened before?"

"Um, no."

"You've never had a nosebleed? Not even a tiny one." He asked writing down her every word. This is the first time he had ever been interested in a person who had a headache. For some reason he could feel it was something more.

"Not even the slightest bit." She said looking bored.

"Okay, have you been anywhere in the past year?"

"I was in Africa about five days ago."

"Africa?" House looked bewildered

"Problem?"

"No, it just, you don't seem like the kind of person who goes to Africa."

"There is a kind of person who goes to Africa?"

"It just seems like you would be bored with…culture."

"Well, I'm sorry to crush your dream but, yeah, I was in Africa. I had been there for about 2 months. It was a student program at my school and they sent me there cheap. I learned about the religions and language, etc, and came back a few days ago. I got bored and I wanted to go to the rave because as I explained to you earlier, I enjoy them. I never got to do very much of anything in Africa but I guess that is how it is."

"Africa is a pretty cool place though. Interesting religions." suddenly becoming slightly interested in the girl

"I guess. Have you ever been?"

"Yep, well, your case pretty much bores me but I guess I'll have to stick with it. Enjoy your disgusting food. Adios." He lost intrest quickly realizing that he had let himself slip. He grabbed his cane and limped out of the room and to his office. When he entered the last person he wanted to see was there…Stacey. She was still pretty pissed at the whole him stealing her file thing...

"I thought you were at a conference." House said throwing the folder haphazardly on the table.

"I was…I came back. Interesting how that works right?" She said smirking a bit.

"Yeah, yeah…where are my groupies?" He asked looking around. He saw Wilson, who was walking beside Cuddy, coming toward his office.

"I don't know. Ask one of them," she pointed to said duo "I'm sure you can manipulate them somehow. Why do you need them?"

"Well, Stacey, that is none of your business because you are not a doctor and I am not your friend. So there." He said crossing his arms over his chest in a childish manner.

She rolled her eyes and sat down at the glass table just as Wilson and Cuddy walked in. House grabbed a marker and wrote on the whiteboard 'Attitude'. That is how he would classify Al…'attitude'. Under it said 'headache, seizure, nosebleed.' Wilson tilted his head.

"You, are interested in a headache and a nosebleed?" he asked obliviously

"And a seizure." House said widening his eyes in an overexaggerated manner.

"You are actually interested in this girl? Is it because you saved her from being date-raped." Cuddy asked looking at the board then at him.

"Nope. Just wanna know how they're all connected. Is that a problem?" He asked sipping a cup of coffee he had just made.

"Not a problem, just a concern." Wilson said smirking slightly.

"As I asked before, where are my groupies?" He asked ignoring Wilson's satement.

"I think they were getting lunch." Cuddy said making herself a cup of coffee.

"I have a question." House asked the three "Why are you here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you're supposed to being doing law stuff," he pointed at Stacey, "and you are supposed to be doing bossy stuff" Pointing at Cuddy "and you are supposed to be congratulating the poor bald people that they have six months to live."

"And."

"Why aren't you doing it?!" He half-screamed, earning a jump from the two ladies and shocked facial expression from Jimmy boy.

"Fine we'll leave." Stacey said grabbing her things the other two followed in suit.

House didn't even look at them as they left. He didn't know why he had screamed at them but he felt a little woozy and he just wanted to be alone. Save for finding out this stupid pointless case.

--

"So you're saying that you are interested in a case that is simply a headache, that caused a seizure that caused another head ache that caused a nosebleed?" Foreman asked rolling a ball between his hands.

Cameron smirked at him, "Well, the seizure was probably caused by the drugs, the headache was probably jetlag…she went to Africa right? And the nosebleed was a busted vessel from the coke she's been so religiously inhaling."

"Well, you are correct, except for the fact that you're completely wrong. The drugs she took didn't cause the seizure…I'm guessing shock from the situation she was in…" he paused in mock thought "and possibly some drugs. The headache just started yesterday and she came back from Africa about a week a go. The nosebleed was a streak of blood. If it had been a busted vessel she would be gushing…this seemed to be clotted yet thin." House corrected her pacing from the door of his office to the sink and back.

"Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron?" Chase asked rolling his pencil on the table.

"Yes…and that is why I'M INTERESTED!" He blew up again. He tried hard not to but the fact that he couldn't handle anything at the moment was bothering him. He would figure out this case. His piercing blue eyes stared coldly at the three and they looked back trying to act nonchalant but they had never seen him like this. They've seen him mad, sure, but not this mad. He seemed almost…concerned about the girl.

"What is wrong with you?" Foreman finally had the ability to speak.

"Nothing, I just think that something more is behind this headache." He said rubbing a hand over his face.

"We'll do some tests." Cameron said suddenly a care bear.

"I don't think so…not unless she starts showing more symptoms by tomorrow. Got it? I'm going home." He grabbed his cane, jacket, and backpack and left the room. The three of them looked at each other and shrugged.

"I guess one of us has to watch her." Chase offered.

"Nurses can take care of that, I'm going home." Foreman stated.

"Me too." Cameron said starting to stand up.

"Well I'm not staying here." Chase said pouting slightly.

"Great, then let the nurses do their jobs and lets go." Foreman urged as he grabbed him coat. They shut off all of the lights and left the room .

--

House opened the door to his apartment and threw his jacket somewhere to the left and dropped his backpack beside the door. He huffed some air and disappointedly sat on the couch with a thud. He grabbed the remote and turned on last week's episode of SpongeBob. He let out a sigh. He had seen this one already. He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the back of the couch.

His mind was reeling. He had to figure this out.

--

The next day was hellish. Nurses were running everywhere and it was as though an epidemic was spreading through the halls.

House walked in watching the commotion. He walked through the busy halls. This is exactly why he hated coming in early. Rush hour traffic is always a sign of someone getting a wreck, people needed to go to work so they had to come into the clinic early, and the fact that all in all it was a Wednesday…the middle of the week, Primetime for something wrong to happen. No more coming in early. He decided.

He pushed through the crowd of people and got onto the elevator that would make even a non-claustrophobic a little nervous. He fidgeted for the entire ride and when the elevator doors opened he almost lunged out of the small lift. For the first time that day he thought about Al and decided to go to her room. He slid open the door and looked at her slender frame under the covers. He shut the door swiftly and jabbed her in the side with his cane.

She awoke abruptly and the first thing he noticed was how red her eyes were.

**Tbc? Please let me know if I should continue this… **


	4. Ebola What?

**A/N: I deleted the last chapter because I needed more of a lead in…maybe this will make more sense…PLEASE read and review…I live off 'em.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own**.

Red eyes. Al had red eyes. Not 'pink eye' red, blood shot red. She stared at him awkwardly and he looked at her with confused eyes.

"What?" she asked looking up as the tall doctor started to get closer.

"When did this happen?" House asked mostly himself.

"What happen?" She asked oblivious to the red eyes and only attentive to the throbbing headache she was having. It had gotten worse.

"Your eyes." He said grabbing the light pen from his pocket.

"What's wrong with them?" She flinched when he passed the bright light over her eyes.

"They're red." He said simply. "Do you have a headache now?"

"Yeah…What's going on?" She asked him as he started to walk toward her IV bag. He looked at the dosage on the machine noticing that the morphine was as high as she could handle.

"Do you feel sort of…high right now?"

"Kind of…"

"Floaty high, or hang over nauseous high?"

"Either."

"More of the latter." She said putting a hand to her head.

"What would you describe your headache as?"

"Like someone is taking a jackhammer to it."

"That bad? Even with the morphine?" He muttered the last part under his breath.

He was lost. _How is she feeling that bad of pain with a butt-load of morphine in her system? Doesn't make sense._ His head was spinning and he couldn't quite grasp what was wrong with her. _Why is this case becoming more interesting by the day?_

"The morphine is doing nothing but making my legs numb…which I'm not even sure why…but there you go." She said fiddling with her gown straps again. That didn't go unnoticed by House.

"Why do you do that?" He asked puzzled.

"Do what?"

"Play with your gown straps all the time…You're always moving, shifting, or something…why?"

"I was diagnosed with Autism when I was a kid, I have to be doing something, I've tried to get it fixed but the doctor told me it wouldn't fully go away. Why do you want to know?"

"Well, you're a bitch, I just figured you just had a nervous habit."

"Well, you're an ass, I just figured you just had a bad attitude."

He looked at her with an amused expression. "I'll get you some eye drops." And with that he left the room.

She looked after him as he slid the door open and limped skillfully through the halls.

_--_

He entered his office with haste and sat down heavily on his chair. He was pondering what the red eyes meant when Cameron stormed through the door with a folder in her hand and she slammed it down on his desk.

"We have a new case." She simply stated and walked away through the door to the conference room where Chase and Foreman were throwing a ball to each other.

He grabbed the file and walked through the door as she did, and threw the folder in front of her just as she had.

"Honey, in case you didn't notice, we already have a patient."

"I'm not dealing with her, she is out of her mind." Cameron simply stated as she sat back in her chair.

"Too bad. No choice. Any more two worded answers you want me to give?" He asked giving her a cold stare.

"No. I just don't understand why we have to deal with a patient that makes me think of you." Then it hit her, right there. That is who Al reminded her of…House. How did she not see it sooner. "She's your daughter."

"Beg your pardon?" House asked as he grabbed a marker.

"She has blue eyes and your attitude." Cameron scowled at the realization. "She is isn't she?"

"Not that I recollect. Can we please get back to the whole saving her life thing?" He asked writing 'bloodshot eyes' on the board.

"No, we can't. Tell me she's not your daughter." She persisted.

"Well, I did tell you that she wasn't my daughter, do you want me to get a DNA test or something?" he rolled his eyes.

"Yes." She said getting up from her seat.

"Cameron, House having a daughter would be like a pig eating bacon…its just wrong." Foreman said throwing the ball up in the air and catching it again.

"Thank you so much, Foreman, for not caring about this conversation… can we get on with this diagnosis?"

"Unbelievable." She said shaking her head with a huge grin on her face.

"No, what is unbelievable is the fact that your going to be dismissed in about five seconds if you don't get off the fact that you think you're right for once. What? Your insecurity wearing down? Need to make yourself look big and bad to your boss...?" he asked loudly.

Her face contorted into a frown and she looked down. Giving up, she sat back down at the table putting up all her barriers all over again.

"Now, diagnosis?"

They nodded and he continued with his pointless guesses.

--

House barged into Al's room. He didn't understand himself sometimes…why was he getting attached like this? He never gets attached. To anything…except Vicoden. That's a different story, this is a person, he doesn't visit patients unless its absolutely necessary. He's visited this patient at least four times already…and he saved her. _Ugh, I'm getting soft and Cameron is getting to me._

"Who's your mother?" He asked bluntly.

"Wh-"

"Your mother, who's your mother?" He interrupted her…he hated how she asked questions all the time.

"Her name is Jessica, Jessica Hayden." She said slowly.

"Jessica, Do people call her Jess or Jessie?"

"Yeah, that's a given."

"What's her maiden name?"

"I don't know." She said looking up at the ceiling.

"What are your grandparent's names?" He asked urgently.

"John and Blythe…I've never met them and she never told me their last name."

"House."

"I know who you are." She said rolling her eyes.

"No, God, your mother's maiden name is House, and your grandparent's names are John and Blythe House, and I'm your uncle." He was mostly talking to himself. He rubbed a hand over his face. _God, why hadn't I seen it before…I am NOT dense. Something drew me to her._

She was speechless, for the first time since he had met her, she was speechless. "I know, I'm thinking the same thing." he said looking up at the ceiling.

"Mom, said you died." Her voice barely over a whisper, "She said her only brother had died. She never gave me any names, besides my grandparent's first names. Why didn't she tell me?"

"She got kicked out. It's a long story that I don't want to tell. I've got to go…" He left the room in haste.

--

House was sitting in the conference room twirling his cane as he stared at the board. He had marked out 'seizures' because she hadn't had one since that night and he didn't think she was going to have another one. The remaining symptoms were mocking him. Mocking his ability to figure this out. 'Headaches, nosebleeds, red eyes.' What did they have in common? What? What? WHAT?

He grabbed his Medical Journal from his bookshelf as he was pacing the floor, cane lying forgotten on the floor by the table.

He flipped through pages to the E's. His finger scrolled down the print and he landed on Ebola. Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, and Ebola Reston. All the symptoms were there. But which one was it? Suddenly a nauseous feeling came over him.

"It can't be." House said to his empty office. "It can't, it can't, IT CAN'T!" He threw his cane toward the wall and he heard something shatter. It barely registered to him as he backed up against the other wall. He put his hands on his head and fell to the ground with his knees hiked up to his chest.

--

Wilson was running a few errands when he spotted House sitting on the floor with his head in his hands. He pulled open the door abruptly and walked over to him.

"What's wrong." He asked getting right to the point.

"We're you around Al?" House asked with his head still bowed.

"No…why?"

"I think Cameron was the only one…get the guys in my office, and tell Cuddy to come down here immediately. We have a crisis and a big one at that." He said still looking down.

"Wait, what the hell happened to your computer?" He asked pointing toward the shattered screen.

"TO HELL WITH MY COMPUTER…GO FUCKING TELL THEM!" He yelled grasping at the wall for support.

"Alright. Jesus! Calm down." Wilson said putting his hands up with his face showing concern.

He left the room in haste and set off to find the four.

House grabbed his cane out of the pile of glass in his carpet and hobbled down the hall toward Al's room. He slammed open the door, she looked up at him startled.

"What's wrong?" She asked with a frightened stare on her face.

"Did you go to any caves in Africa?" He asked deliberately. "And have you been around any one besides me and Dr. Cameron?"

"No, I went to Mount Elgon though. And only one nurse ever checked up on me. She never got near me or anything."

"Did she touch your blood? Did Dr. Cameron touch your blood?" He asked hurriedly looking around frantically for nothing in particular.

"No. Only you touched my blood." She said looking at him with disbelief in her eyes.

"Okay, where was Dr. Cameron standing?"

"Right over there." She said pointing to the TV set. "She was standing beside the TV and she wrote something down in the folder. She was there for maybe ten minutes and you came in and she left."

"And the nurse?"

"She just checked my pulse and left."

"Wrist or neck?"

"What is this?" She asked looking at him worriedly.

"WRIST OR NECK!?" He yelled slamming his hand on the table.

"Wrist. She was barely here for a minute." She said in a cautious high-pitched worried voice.

"Did she get close enough that if you coughed on her your spit would get on her?"

"No, she just reached out from about where you're standing, checked my pulse, and left." She said wide-eyed. Her stomach started hurting and she felt like she was going to vomit. She had to hold it in. He was already pissed, if she vomited on him he was liable to hit her.

His eyes traveled over her face. "What are you feeling right now?" His eyes searing through hers.

"Sick."

"How sick."

"Like I'm going to hurl." She said putting a hand to her stomach.

"Have you had any abdomen pain?" He asked grabbing her wrist to check her pulse. It was getting faster.

"Yes, sharp pains…but, what does that have to do with anything?" She asked raking her fingers through her hair.

"Why aren't you telling me this? Why didn't you tell me this yesterday? WHY!?" He screamed looking at her scared face dead on.

"I- I don't know…I didn't think it was important."

"God damn it! It is important! Has anything else been bleeding?" He was still screaming, and this was catching the attention of the nurses.

"I don't know!" She screamed through tears.

"Yes you do! TELL ME!" He said grabbing her hand.

"Yes, Uh…my nose bled again last night and I felt a little sick afterward, but I thought it was the blood loss doing it. I started coughing and blood showed up in my hand but…I didn't think anything of it."

Houses eyes shot up toward the ceiling he let out a harsh laugh, "Didn't think anything of it? Do you know what blood coming out of your mouth means?"

"No?"

"Neither do I! So when it happens, if you can't figure out what is wrong with you, ASK ME!" He slammed his hand against the table again making the contents on it fall to the floor.

She started feeling sicker and she couldn't hold it longer. She started throwing up. All over him at that. He jumped back in shock but then caught sight of the puke. It was red with black spots in it. He had to stop her from vomiting all over the place. She was at a constant pace now and she couldn't stop. He grabbed something for her to throw up in but it was still getting on him. His mind was reeling and for the first time in his medical career he seriously did not know what to do.

She finally stopped and fell back on the bed. Blood covered the sheets, her and him. He looked at her with wide eyes and dread clouded his senses. He felt like he was going throw up. Not because she had vomited on him…but because he had a sudden epiphany…a terrifying one.

"Come with me…come with me now!" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the bed.

"Wait! Where are we going?" She said trying to resist his grasp.

"COME ON!"

"What? Why!?" She screamed jerking her arm away.

"Safety measures." He grabbed her wrist again and pulled her with him down the hall.

They reached the bio levels and he pushed her in. She yelped a little but regained her posture. "Oh, don't worry, I'm fine." She said over exaggerating her words.

"Great. Get in there." He said with venom in his voice. She obliged following all of his instructions and she entered Level 4.

He gave her one last look and quickly left the rooms. He practically ran to his office only to find a pissed Cuddy, three very annoyed ducklings, Stacey rolling her eyes and Wilson still in shock. The all stared at the door when the bloody doctor opened it.

"Don't breathe. Understand? Don't any of you dare fucking breathe." He said the all looked at him wide-eyed in attempt to figure out what the hell happened. He grabbed the marker off of the board and wrote on it 'EBOLA'. He was going to die a horrible painful death.

TBC…


	5. Silence is Overtaking

**A/N: sorry it has been so long since I updated, hopefully this chapter isn't crappy...enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own..**

He finally entered the bio level 4. He had cleaned himself up and made sure all of his research correct. With the bleach and the other disinfectants it should have killed the virus off. At least other people weren't around it long enough to get infected. He made sure the halls were cleared before he walked to the bio levels and when he got to the 4th level he was relieved…well somewhat relieved. He looked over at the filled bed and his mind filled with concern. His niece…_His _niece was lying there with blood nearly coming out of her eyeballs…literally…and he could do nothing about it.

She was sleeping uneasily, he could tell. He walked over brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and saw the resemblance. She looked like his own kid, then again, everyone could tell that he and his sister were siblings. "The eyes" they always said, "The eyes, make you look so much alike." He frowned at the thought. He hadn't seen her since…well since before the infarction. Way before the infarction, when Al was just 2 or 3. He rolled his eyes at his thoughts. He was becoming more like his mother everyday. _Getting soft old man. Too much love._

He walked over to the other bed and pulled the covers back. Somehow he had convinced himself that he would be better off here. His mind was freaking out but he covered it well. What was he going to do though? He was sure that the rest of his team was either ignoring him completely or working their asses off to make sure he'd be okay…hopefully the latter.

"What do I have?" A weak voice came from the other side of the room.

"Ebola." House said simply rolling over on his left side. Not shocked at all by her sudden question. He was used to that. Being shocked, having things come on him suddenly. It didn't surprise him. He enjoyed the unpredictability of his life.

"What happens? You know when you get it…what are the symptoms? What will happen to me?" She asked worriedly.

"You really wanna know?" He said sitting up on his elbows looking at her.

"Yes."

"You bleed…a lot. You bleed out of your nose, your mouth, your eyes, your ears, your ass, every opening in your body will bleed, and God even your pores will bleed. You get spots on your skin that is so sensitive to touch that they would come off at the slightest movement over them.

Your bowels will open up and your organs will pretty much leak out of you. Not to mention that you will be in so much pain when your organs turn to mush. Everything inside of you is just like melted ice in a Ziplock bag. The only thing shaping you is your skeleton.

Your tongue will pretty much fall off and you will either choke on it, swallow it, or vomit it out…lovely picture huh?" He asked sarcastically.

"Oh my God…"

"I know." He said

"Oh my God, OH my GOD! OH MY GOD, OH GOD, OH MY GOOOOD!" She was sobbing now, screeching out the three words.

"Hey…HEY! Calm down. Jeez."

"Calm down" She sniffed, "You want me to calm down when there is a time-bomb in my head waiting for my entire body to turn into mush? Are you out of your mind?"

"No, but I am being rational. The more you freak out, the more you freak me out, and when I get freaked out…it isn't pretty." He said lying back down on the bed. "I'm trying to be the calm mature adult here and now I realize why I hate my job…"

"Yeah, I'm glad you pity yourself so much." She said in a frustrated tone.

"I don't."

"Just shut up…I don't…I need you to be quiet."

The silence lasted longer than he would have liked. He wished he could just go to sleep and ignore his problem. It was different when she had it. It was a lot different. He didn't care about her. He cared about himself. And now he was in the same small, deadly boat she was. They were going to die…together.

He looked at the ceiling coming mildly interested in the tiles. The room was boring. It was white and intimidating. There was nothing interesting about it. He looked out the plexi-glass window and realized just how much trouble he was in.

"You know? Nobody cares about Bio Level 4. It's like; they can't do anything about it…so they don't care. They look at you all sad and caring but all in all, they can't do anything about it and they don't think twice about killing someone in here. It's like it's a relief to get rid of them or something." He said twisting the blanket that covered him in between his fingers.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked

"Making conversation."

"Not good conversation."

"Sorry."

"Yeah…" She could tell he wasn't.

More silence overcame them. After a while he heard the bed across from him start to shake…or the person on it. He sat up on his elbows again and noticed Al's eyes were rolling to the back of her head and she was seizing uncontrollably.

Blood was flying every direction and he realized she was about to crash and bleed. He limped/ran to her side and held her down only to have her blood and her arms slap him in the face and chest. He called a code but he knew deep down they wouldn't get there in time. He noticed Cuddy on the outside of the glass when he glanced up. She looked as if she had been crying. The three doctors of his team were right behind her and Wilson was coming through the door to put on the biohazard suit.

They seemed to have snapped out of their trance and followed Wilson's footsteps but the flatline of the heart monitor called it. House looked up not ready for that. He reached for the crash cart and pulled the paddles from the side of it. He prepared them and put them on her chest. He counted to himself and didn't say anything as he tried to bring her back. After six minutes of yelling 'clear' inside his head he wasn't stopping. The said five doctors were coming into the room, disinfected, as House shocked his niece. Wilson tried to pull him away from the girl but he wouldn't stop.

"Time?" Foreman said trying to make House realize it was over.

"No, I've got it…I can bring her back." He said desperately.

"Time?" Foreman stated a little more demanding.

"NO! No…no…n…no." He wouldn't stop…not now.

"Greg." Cuddy said in a sincere tone.

"Stop, I can bring her back." He said still shocking her.

"No," Wilson grabbed his wrists, "you can't."

Anger took over the older doctor. The stupid suits made him feel inferior, upset, he knew he was going to die, and it was like they were just rubbing it in. He grabbed the edge of the cart that was jutting out and he threw it against the wall with amazing strength. Wrapped needles scattered across the floor, the paddles hung loosely off the cart, the remnants of the supplies on the cart were either shattered or cracked and they lay all across the floor.

"Damn it." He said in a small voice and he eased himself to the floor. He put his head in his hands and sat there silent.

The silence was overtaking him once more.


	6. Feelings and stuff

_I must be going crazy._

_I'm going to die and all I can do is sit here in this empty white room without anyone to talk to…and now I'm pouting._

"House?" As if on cue, Wilson was at the hard plastic window looking concerned at him.

_Down at me._

He didn't say anything. To afraid of what might come out. Sincerity? No. Broken-heartedness? Not quite…He hadn't known her all that well. But an incredible sense of sadness dwelled over him making him feel like someone put a two-ton truck on his shoulders.

"House?" Wilson asked more persistent.

"Problem? Case I need to solve?" House asked irate.

"No…" He started cautiously, "I just…wanted to see if you were doing okay."

"I have a head ache but other than that I'm peachy keen."

"House…Seriously, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Seriously."

"Yes." Wilson said with a smile, glad he was finally getting somewhere.

"You can go to hell."

Wilson frowned and looked down.

House didn't hear him leave so he looked over his shoulder.

"Don't do that." He stated monotonously.

"Can't help it." Wilson was trying to act like an adult but his best friend was deteriorating. "You're dying."

"Really?"

"House, come on."

"What do you want me to say? That I'm happy, I'm sad, I'm angry, I'm frustrated, I'm relieved, I'm bitter? I don't know what to say…okay? I don't know what to say…my niece died on my behalf and I don't even…care. I can't muster up any emotion-"

"You just haven't had time to-"

"No…Wilson, no. I just don't care. I can't. She's blood and I don't care what happened to her or what is going to happen to her mother."

"House you just had a bad childhood…?" Wilson suggested hoping he was right.

"Heh. Yeah…bad childhood."

"Talk to me House…"

"About what?"

"About anything…your feelings, your memories, your attitude, Cuddy's breasts- your nose is bleeding." He said abruptly.

"My nose? What does my nose have to do with my feelings?"

"No, House, your nose is bleeding."

House reached up and brought his hand across his nose and looked down in dread. His was coming quicker than Al's had.

Damn.

TBC...( i don't know where to go with this... frustrated b/c I'm getting him out of character and I NEED HELP...yup...so if anyone has any ideas...i would completely appreciate it.)


	7. Death and Dying

A/N: I'm going to be terribly mean and end it here. Just like this. I got a review that made this suggestion and I SHALL USE IT!

Yay!

Thanks for reading this story. It has been a good couple of chapters.

I ran out of ideas and I have no idea where to take it from here.

Ergo, I'm ending it.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Faster than Al's." House muttered.

"What?"

"The disease, its going faster than Al's."

"When…" He stuttered slightly, "When do you think it will…"

"Kill me? I don't know. Tonight? Tomorrow…? Soon." He smirked.

"You think…you think this is funny?! You think your death is…funny?" Wilson looked horrified

"It wouldn't work well if it was planned out would it? The irony…If I actually wanted to die, that would be considered cynical, pessimistic, suicidal. But if I didn't want to die and found it was funny that would be considered sadistic. If I didn't want to die and prayed until I thought I would actually survive would be…religious and optimistic. If I didn't tell anyone that I was going to die I would be selfish and uncaring. But what if…just what if I'm all of those things?

What if I tried to kill myself while giggling as I prayed and I didn't tell you what I was doing? How would that pan out? I would be…a walking oxymoron wouldn't I?

Like I said…Ironic."

"You've lost your mind." Wilson said staring at his friend in complete bewilderment. "How can you be philosophical? Right now…this second? How can you think about all of this right now?"

"Duno. I think about a lot of stuff in a white room full of nothingness. Its not like I have lives to save or women to fuck. I can't do anything. Right? I can't move, I can't leave, I can't watch TV…nothing except talk to you…"

"Which I'm sure is terrible."

"Not terrible, no. It's pretty good. Pretty nice. In my last few moments of living I get to talk to my bestest friend in the world."

"House…"

He sat there for a second waiting for Wilson to continue. When he didn't proceed House laughed. A sort of maniacal laugh, "More with the irony. I will die doing nothing. Sitting here in a damn white room…If I leave it will infect everybody and God forbid that right? If that happened people might actually figure out the perspective of their damn useless lives."

"Wow. That's…harsh."

"Harsh? Are you kidding? You've heard worse from me."

"I have…but not when you're dying."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't' use dying…I don't like that term." House said staring straight in front of him. He took the tissue that was clotting the blood in his nose away and the blood still flowed fluently. "Shit."

"Here." Wilson reached to help him but the large glove that covered his hand just seemed to get in the way.

"Stop. Wilson…just stop. Why don't you just go?"

"Because…because you are my friend and I'm not leaving." He stated stubbornly.

"What is your problem?" House asked loudly and just as stubbornly.

"House."

"What?" He asked completely confused.

"House."

"Why are you saying my fucking name?"

"HOUSE!"

--

"Wha?" House murmured and nearly fell out of his chair at the sound of Wilson's voice.

"I said, for the umpteenth time, get up!" He said nudging his friend.

"Umph." He groaned pulling himself from the cramped position of his chair. The team and Wilson surrounded him. "What the hell do you want?" He asked sleepily.

"The patient…his pancreas is failing." Cameron stated cautiously.

"Pancreas?" House asked shaking his head slightly.

"Yeah, you know…that organ that produces su-" Foreman started.

"I know what a damn pancreas is…Look I need some fresh air. Bad dreams and all that." House interrupted and lifted himself from his chair. He grabbed his cane that was leaning up against his desk and limped away from the crowd.

--

The bench outside of the hospital looked eerily comfortable. His feet pulled him toward the wooden bench. He sat down and pulled out his bottle of Vicoden. The lid came off easy. The pills came out just as easy. He popped one in his mouth and put the other two that fell out with it back into the bottle.

A noise came across the street. He heard a girl's laughter and looked up. A guy that was at least a foot taller then her was pushing her toward what House assumed was his car. The girl frowned and realized the guy was trying to hurt her. She fought him away and House got a crazy sense of déjà vu.

The guy got tired of messing with her and pushed her down onto the sidewalk. House gripped his cane tight and looked intently at the couple. The guy grabbed his keys and drove off in what looked like an angry haste. The girl looked completely relieved. She stood up and started to walk away from the building she came out of. She came to a sudden stop.

House's grip on the wooden shaft got tighter. He stared at the girl for what seemed like eternity. He watched intently for a second longer and she fell to the ground.

_She_…he swallowed the lump that just built up in his throat…_was seizing_

**End**


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